High Pitch Whine when Accelerating

Hey all..kinda new to the forums but Ive been dealing with this issue for a bit and its driving me crazy! I have a 2001 Impala LS, 56K miles. I have found that anytime I try to do any fast accelerating such as to pass, I get a horrible, loud, high pitch whine. The sound only happens when I accelerate and sometimes it does not even have to be hard acceleration for it to happen. Weather does not seem to be a factor nor does engine temperature. The whine stops for a split second during gear changes but does not happen at all during cruisng or coasting. Any thoughts?? Thanks in advance.

Its entirely possible that it could be the torque converter as well. If thats going it will wine more with hard accelleration or normal, just the pitch will vary. However if thats going you'll usually notice that coming off the line its a bit more sluggish than usual and it may slip a little in first. If its driving just fine then thats probably not it.

The power stearing pump is a possibility but usually thats more of a low wine vs a high pitched, but I'm used to hearing them go on trucks so maybe the cars sound a bit different. Of course the easy way to check the PS pump is to make sure its got plenty of fluid in it and then when in park rev up the engine to generate the wine and see if the PS pump is where its coming from.

I have a 2001 chevy impala. I have had an engine whinning for about 100,000 miles now (seems like forever). Obviously I replaced everything suggested on any forum without success. I have just picked up my car from a new mechanic and I am thrilled to say that the NOISE IS GONE.
Drum roll please.......... It was the AC Compressor! 6+ years of whinning is gone. Unfortunately it cost around $1100.00, but I gotta say it was worth every cent. If your car is whinning enough for you to be searching the internet fir a solution, then i would highly recommend the investment. Consider it an investment towards your sanity.

Hi guys, 1999 malibu. upon acceleration get a whining noise that seems to travel up through the steering wheel. When we stop no noise. Put the car in park and gave it gas, no whining noise.

Took it to mechanic for quick looks see. He said the power steering fluid was black. Changed the fluid out an said to see if that does anything. (my son took it in so no great details. thought he said something about the power steering pedal going bad?)

Anyways my son drove it around and said that it didn't help at all. He park the car in the garage. My wife stepped out and said the car smells hot.

Any ideas? Do you guys think it sounds like the power steering pump? I read here where you can check the PS pump by reving the engine while in park. When I do this it doesn't cause the problem. Any help would be appreciated.

Also I should add that I jacked the car up, so both the wheels were off the ground. I then turned them. The drivers side turned harder than the passenger side but neither side caused any grinding or whining noise.

I'm totally confused on this one.

Last edited by tm3912; November 7th, 2011 at 4:58 PM.
Reason: additional info